Single working moms, who are often pressed
for time and money, may have to worry about
their heart health, too.
More likely to smoke
Compared to married mothers with jobs, single
working mothers in the United States have a
higher risk of heart disease and stroke,
researchers found. They're also more likely to
smoke – a known heart risk – than women
with other work and family patterns, said Frank
van Lenthe, co-author of the new study.
Losing the support of a partner, along with the
second income, "may cause stress and result
in unhealthy behaviours," said van Lenthe. He
is an associate professor of social
epidemiology at Erasmus University Medical
Centre in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
Before this study, he said, "We did not know
much about the role of work, per se, and its
link to cardiovascular risk for women, and we
did not know that it was single working
mothers who were most at risk."
For the study, van Lenthe's team examined
data from two large surveys that included more
than 18,000 US and European women. One was
the US Health and Retirement Study; the other,
the Survey of Health, Ageing, and Retirement in
Europe. This helped identify work and family
patterns for women born in the United States
and in 13 European countries between 1935
and 1956.
Different work and family patterns
About 11 percent of US women and 5 percent
of Europeans were single working mothers.
Others were single working women without
children; stay-at-home married mothers; and
married working mothers who may have stayed
home temporarily but returned to the work
force.
The researchers looked next at self-reports
from the women about diseases and risk
factors.
The investigators compared heart disease and
stroke risks among the different work and
family patterns, and also between Europeans
and Americans.
Compared to European women, US women had
nearly three times the risk of heart
disease and more than double the risk of
stroke. Overall, single working mothers had 1.4
times the risk of heart disease and 1.7 times
the risk of stroke compared to married working
mothers.
And single mothers in both the United States
and in Europe were more likely to smoke.
Less maternal support
In general, the researchers found what other
studies have also concluded – that women
who were consistently working, married and
had children were the healthiest of all.
"Work and marriage offer, or at least increase
the possibility of, financial and social security,"
and married mothers may get help from
partners in raising children, van Lenthe noted.
But he and his colleagues said the work and
family patterns only explain a small part of the
health disadvantage seen among US women
compared to European women. Weaker policies
to support mothers in the US labour market
may also help explain the differences, he said.
The study could not prove that being a single
working mom caused the increased health
risks.
However, the study findings didn't surprise Dr
Suzanne Steinbaum, director of women's heart
health at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City.
"There is no job more time-consuming,
emotionally demanding and stressful than being
a mom," said Steinbaum, who wasn't involved
in the study.
Better support policies needed
"So there is nobody who is going to have more
stress – especially when you add in the
financial issues – than a single mother," she
said. All that stress can take a toll on self-
care, Steinbaum explained.
And the differences found in the study between
US and European women are not unexpected
either, Steinbaum added. "They give a lot more
family support in Europe, and that actually
helps," she said.
Study co-author van Lenthe suggested that
generous maternity leaves, affordable childcare
and more flexibility in work schedules would
help single working mothers preserve their
health.
"There is a need to develop wider policies to
support single mothers in both the United
States and in Europe," he added.
For now, Steinbaum tells single working
mothers: "Every single day, you have to fit in
those moments to take care of yourself. If you
are sick, you cannot be a good parent."
One of her suggestions: Instead of thinking you
have no time to exercise, find a workout you
can do with your children. "Go for a bike ride
together," she said. Besides getting a workout,
you are modelling healthy behaviours for your
child, which is another good thing, she added.
The study was published in the online edition
of the American Journal of Public Health
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